Upskilling at Home

28 Sep 2017

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See how you can move to the next level with online learning

Don’t wait for the New Year to start some resolutions: there’s no time like the present to improve yourself. Don’t think you have enough time for classes? Use some of the 18 hours a week the average Australian spends watching TV at home. Best of all, you won’t even have to leave your living room – all these lessons and classes can be accessed through the internet for free.

Learn a new language

Start learning that language you’ve always wanted to speak but never got the chance to try. Certain languages can be useful to learn for business or economic reasons, such as Mandarin or Arabic. Get a better appreciation for the classics by learning Spanish, French or Italian. Feel a closer connection to your ethnic background by studying your native language. Try Open Culture for an exhaustive list of languages from Ancient Greek to Yiddish, with instructional material like textbooks, videos, and audio lessons.

Work with your hands

Keep your hands busy with a hobby that fills your hours with fun and engaging activities. Learn to knit and create lovely presents for yourself, friends and family. Start with the basics of sewing and work your way up from reattaching popped-off buttons to creating your own garments. Pick up card tricks, patter and the art of misdirection to start you on the path to magic and impress your mates and dates. A handy hobby can do more than just keep you busy – it can become a passion that adds enjoyment to your life and helps you connect to people that share these activities.

Pad your CV

Upskill and make your CV look more impressive with expertise in a range of subjects. Improve your reading skill and comprehension, and even halve the amount of time it takes you to read a paragraph, or boost your typing and accuracy. Become an an Excel expert or a Photoshop master and impress the higher ups with your know-how. You can even consider a change of career as a programmer or web developer after learning how to code.

Discover your musical side

It’s never too late to learn an instrument. Let your inner musician out with online guitar, piano or drum lessons and conveniently learn in your living room. Vocalists can also opt to try a free voice lesson from the Berklee College of Music, while creatives can learn the basics of songwriting. Put your first track together after mastering music production and you’re all set!

Take care of yourself

Focus on your well-being and take some classes for a healthier you. Start by focusing on what you’re putting into your body – learn to cook delicious and nutritious meals from scratch with cooking lessons that range from simple every day meals to more complicated but no less yummy recipes. After you’ve got your diet sorted out, relieve stress and improve flexibility with yoga classes, choosing from hundreds of video lessons for beginner and intermediate students.